Aleix Espargaró was the only Aprilia on track at Austin last weekend after his teammate Maverick Viñales sat out the grand prix following the tragic death of his 15-year-old cousin Dean Berta Viñales in a crash at the race. World Supersport 300 in Jerez a week before.
The Catalan had more problems than most with the potholes of the Circuit of the Americas with the RS-GP , and could only qualify in 19th position on the grid after a crash in Q1.
The Aprilia rider’s problems continued into Sunday’s race and on the ninth of 20 laps he crashed at Turn 13.
That was his fifth crash in three days in the United States, which left Espargaró furious and searching for answers, since he believes that the Aprilia should not have been more affected by the potholes than the rest of the bikes.
“I’m very frustrated, it’s been a nightmare, honestly,” Espargaró said after his fourth retirement in 2021.
“Actually, my frustration is very high because I don’t have a clear answer to the question. Obviously the potholes didn’t help, my bike was very, very difficult to ride, but the potholes were there for everyone.
“You can go more or less fast on one circuit or another. I finished first in the Misano test, so maybe we can go to another circuit where we can fight for eighth place. But more or less the level is always similar. But on this track I did not find the way”.
(Before reading on, click on the link or on the photos to see the images of Aleix Espargaró at the GP of the Americas)
“I wasn’t pushing that hard in the race, because the goal was to finish, get a couple of points and go home. So I started to overtake some drivers: [Franco] Morbidelli, [Iker] Lecuona, [Andrea] Dovizioso, Alex Marquez. But my pace wasn’t fast, I was losing a second to the top guys, or even more, and I fell again.”
“I have no explanation. I feel very sorry for my team, because five crashes is a lot. And having only one Aprilia in America and crashing five times and going home without points is not good. So I’m angry, but I hope we can find a explanation. We can forget this weekend, the season has been very good, but I need an explanation.”
